Club Obi Wan

I found this site with a very nice 16plt 10' whip made of cowhide for $260. Anyone know about it that can give some feedback?

http://www.cowboybydesign.com/whips.html

Texas Jones wrote:I found this site with a very nice 16plt 10' whip made of cowhide for $260. Anyone know about it that can give some feedback?
http://www.cowboybydesign.com/whips.html

That thong, fall and cracker...hmmm...
I wouldnt pay this much for that whip.

If price and quality are issues, may I suggest http://www.ecwhips.com...great quality for a fair price. I'm not sure that I'd want a 16 plait either mainly because the braids are cut more narrow and thus easier to cut.

On another note...this handle would make for a hardcore defense system if an attacker got to close...
http://www.cowboybydesign.com/SHWhip3%20int.jpg

Nice......

That one with the silver handle is actualy a nice looking whip, in MHO.

Nice handle, ITG .

I like the title of this thread too.

I'm not sure that I'd want a 16 plait either mainly because the braids are cut more narrow and thus easier to cut.

ITG,
that’s the complete opposite. When the strands are cut thinner there is a much more likely possibility that when you are cutting you will slip your hand to the side just a little and slice the strand in half. If you cut a strand using the ganged method (attached together at the top of handle) then you have to start over completely, re cutting all of the strands even if you were on the last one. A 16 plait,(I only tried 1 time), was a complete pain to do and took for ever. I have complete respect for this whip maker because of his good-looking pattern work with 16 plait. I talked to him before when I added a link to his website on my website. He seemed very nice.
Kindest Regards
Adam

ITG,
that’s the complete opposite. When the strands are cut thinner there is a much more likely possibility that when you are cutting you will slip your hand to the side just a little and slice the strand in half. If you cut a strand using the ganged method (attached together at the top of handle) then you have to start over completely, re cutting all of the strands even if you were on the last one. A 16 plait,(I only tried 1 time), was a complete pain to do and took for ever. I have complete respect for this whip maker because of his good-looking pattern work with 16 plait. I talked to him before when I added a link to his website on my website. He seemed very nice.
Kindest Regards
Adam

Adam,

I think ITG was saying that the thinner strands on a 16 plait whip are thinner and therefore easier to cut on sharp objects when you are using the the whip.

Also, don't scrap the whole mess of strands when you mess up a single strand while cutting them out. You can use it for a drop strand, or you can cut that single strand out of the gang, cut another full length strand and plait it into the overlay. You would bind it at the top, and it would become just another part of the overlay. Don't throw away the whole mess, that gets expensive!!

Jerry R

Bingo, Jerry! I wasn't even thinking in terms of cutting the laces before the whip was made.

The silver handled whip might be hard to handle because sweat from your hand would make it slippery, whereas with a leather handled whip, your palm sweat just gets absorbed in the leather. It would be interesting to see how a silver-handled whip would handle. In our Texas heat, it might get kinda hot to the touch in the summer if out in the sun too long.

ITG,

I agree. That silver handled whip would be the one that would stay in the bag during one of those hot Dallas whip practises!!

Are you going to be in Cleburne this weekend? Should be a good gathering. Lotsa whip cracking and good fellowship. I talked to mark the other day and they had about 50 already signed up. Mark has several contests lined up and this is the time to learn some rope spinning and knife and 'hawk throwing as well. Robert D and Seb are supposed to be there and I'm sure the Saathoffs and Bobby Carter will be there as well.

I'll have a couple new whips to pass around for show and try. A new mini Indy and an 8' Indy. They are already sold, but I talked to the folks and they said I could send them after the weekend. Also finishing an 8' Aussie target bullwhip. Plus I'll have a couple of Chris Barr's outstanding stockwhips. Two 24 plait whips and a 16 plait.

Gotta get busy again. Spending too much time fooling around and too much work to do.

Jerry R

Would the 16 plait cowhide be more durable than a 16 plait kangaroo, or the other way around? I know kangaroo is really tough, but I was wondering about the comparison.

Interesting choice of designs, putting silver butt caps and handles on. That's pretty cool.

There's a closeup picture of the plaiting, which is really nice.

Some of the pictures don't look that great (i.e., the plaiting looks bumpy or uneven), but I'd chalk that up to the pixelation of the digital camera which was used, especially after seeing the closeup picture that is posted. I've had that happen during picture taking, and it's pretty irritating.

All in all, nice looking stuff. I'd like to hear how it handles if anyone has one in which they may compare to others.

Best Regards,

Paul Stenhouse

Shishak wrote:Would the 16 plait cowhide be more durable than a 16 plait kangaroo, or the other way around? I know kangaroo is really tough, but I was wondering about the comparison.

We're tallking about apples and oranges.

Cowhide has DURABILITY.

Kangaroo has TENSILE STRENGTH. Don't crack your roo whips on dirt, concrete, asphalt, etc.

Cowhide can be done there better than kangaroo. If it's a 16 plait cowhide, you still have to be a bit careful.

Kangaroo has been said to have 6 to 10 times the tensile strength to COWHIDE. This is because kangaroo has a grain, while cowhide has a random grain, if you will.

So to clear up one idea of yours. KANGAROO IS NOT TOUGH. Strong as far as tensile strength but not tough and durable like cowhide.

Thanks, that does help clear it up. I knew with all the experts on the board someone would be able to give a good break down of the two leathers.

Those whips look really durn good to me. Is that an eight seam braid he is using on the thong? Pretty cool. I like that.

That silver handle looks like it could be a lightsaber!

The_Edge wrote:Those whips look really durn good to me. Is that an eight seam braid he is using on the thong? Pretty cool. I like that.

I had a nice chat with Jack Perry of Cowboy By Design last summer. I asked him about his plaiting/braiding also. Here is an interesting reply.

An 8 seam herringbone using 16 strings is an over two, under two braid, similar to the chess board, except by alternating strands, you lock it in place much better. Over two, under two makes for a very durable handle braid, and is my preference for the body of a whip, regardless of the number of strings. It is more difficult to keep this braid looking straight, since even a slight twist or error is apparent. The look of the finished braid is very linear, and even an untrained eye can spot an area of crooked braiding. (Especially when done in two colors.)

I also like a birdseye braid for the grip area of handles when using higher string counts. It's a durable braid, and with higher string counts, (16 and up) the strings don't tend to move around on you much. It is also a bit rougher braid, and is easier to hang on to when finished.

That tells me he's a man that knows his work and isn't afriad of sharing "secrets". I'd say he's a good whipmaker.

jerryrwm wrote:ITG,

Are you going to be in Cleburne this weekend? Should be a good gathering. Robert D and Seb are supposed to be there.

I sure wish I was gonna be there. However my mom and aunt are throwing me a house warming party. I sure wish I was going to Cleburne though...I got my first Joe Strain whip in the mail today...it's a six footer I got off eBay. I'm pretty pumped. Gave it a few cracks out in my backyard this evening and Booyah I'm impressed!

Hmmmmm...the pictures look awesome. Just the braiding alone indicates to me that he knows what he doing. The other side of the story is the weighting and balance of the whip. I have bought a whip once by looks alone (on ebay). When it arrived, it was sadly way too light, it had no body or heft to it and the balance was non existent. It was like trying to crack a rope. So remember to buy not on looks alone.

-S